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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · kid · bat · straw · board · pit

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. board — a committee
  3. pit — a hole
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kid — child
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. board — to get on
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pit — in a race
  18. board — a flat piece

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com